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Saginaw Valley State University

November 7, 2019

SVSU selects K-12 educators for Gerstacker leadership program

2020 GerstackersA new group of K-12 education leaders committed to professional growth will join the Saginaw Valley State University Gerstacker Fellowship program in 2020.

As part of the initiative, 11 teachers, principals, and program administrators from across Michigan will receive concentrated leadership training over a 1-year period. The experience will include an international trip to Japan in June.

Previous overseas trips have included China, South Korea, Poland, Taiwan, Finland, and Germany.

These trips send participants to educational institutions, where participants learn about international educational systems and corporate settings. There, they discover how leadership plays out in different cultural and economic settings. 

Last year’s group visited Finland and Germany. Their stops included K-12 schools, Helsinki University, Hochshule Ansbach, secondary German vocational schools and numerous cultural sites.

The program was established in 2005 with a $1.5 million endowment from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation of Midland. Participants are known as Gerstacker Fellows. They meet monthly on weekends.

Experts in the field instruct the group on subjects such as organizational leadership, ethics, finances, communication, human resources, entrepreneurship and education with a global perspective.

Those selected to participate in the 2020 program are as follows:

  • Joseph Amabile; IB coordinator/professional learning community leader, Oxford Public Schools
  • Deedra Baker; intervention teacher; Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools
  • Laura Chang; instructional consultant, literacy coach, and interventionist, Vicksburg Community Schools
  • Margaret Doan; elementary principal, Midland Public Schools
  • Tamara Johnson; executive director of fiscal services, Saginaw Public Schools
  • Jason Kowalski; assistant elementary and middle school principal, Carrollton Public Schools
  • Nathan Mausolf; assistant high school principal, Birch Run Schools
  • Scott Miklovic; director of technology and innovation, Elkton Pigeon Bayport Laker Schools
  • Justin Shaner; assistant middle and high school principal, Bay City Public Schools
  • Molly Sholten; instructional coach, Institute for Excellence in Education, Mount Pleasant
  • Penny Miller-Nelson; assistant superintendent, Midland Public Schools